UNITED NATIONS, Nov 19 (APP): The high-level diplomatic push for climate action shifted southward on Tuesday as G20 leaders meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, sent a clear signal to negotiating teams at stalled UN climate talks in Baku on the need to rapidly and substantially \u2018scale up climate finance from billions to trillions from all sources.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the statement from the world\u2019s leading economies \u2013 and biggest emitters \u2013 stopped short of explicit reference of \u2018transitioning away from fossil fuels\u2019, to which all nations agreed last year at COP28 in Dubai, the G20 leaders did \u2018welcome the balanced, ambitious outcome\u2019 of those talks, diplomats and experts noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The G20 communiqu\u00e9 comes as the clock ticks down on COP29, which is set to wrap up this Friday in the Azerbaijan capital, Baku. The complex negotiations on new and significantly scaled-up funding for loss and damage and accelerated clean energy goals are moving slowly, as some countries dig into their positions while waiting for others to pull back from their own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who was attending the G20 Summit, is returning to Baku for the concluding session of the climate conference armed with a strong message from Rio.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Monday, the UN chief told the G20 summit, \u201cFailure [in Baku] is not an option. It might compromise the ambition in the preparation of the new national climate action plans, with potential devastating impacts as irreversible tipping points are getting closer. The preservation of the Amazon is a case in point.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Missing the opportunity to reach agreement on a new climate finance deal in Baku \u201cwould inevitably also make the success of COP30 in Brazil much more difficult,\u201d the Secretary-General said, and added: \u201cI appeal to the sense of responsibility of all the countries around this table to help ensure that COP29 will be a success.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In Baku, UN climate chief Simon Stiell who earlier warned against brinkmanship and what he called \u2018you-first-ism\u2019, said Tuesday that G20 leaders sent a clear message to their negotiators at COP29: \u201cA successful new finance goal\u2026 is in every country\u2019s clear interests.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLeaders of the world\u2019s largest economies have also committed to driving forward financial reforms to put strong climate action within all countries\u2019 reach,\u201d said Stiell, who is the Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which convenes that annual COP meetings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He added: \u201cThis is an essential signal in a world plagued by debt crises and spiraling climate impacts, which are wrecking lives, disrupting supply chains, and fueling inflation in every economy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In interviews with UN NEWS, a media Website, climate and environment activists in Baku said they were cautiously optimistic about the communique, while others gave it a mixed verdict, saying the statement was vague on climate finance and failed to explicitly mention the need to transition away from fossil fuels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But Harjeet Singh, a climate activist who is the Global Engagement Director for the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative, said, \u201cDeveloped nations remain unmoved, failing to quantify the trillions needed or to ensure these funds are provided as grants \u2013 essential for achieving climate justice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He added: \u201cTheir rehashed rhetoric offers no solace for the fraught COP29 negotiations, where we continue to see a deadlock on climate finance.\u201d<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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